Hackers steal up to $1 billion in global banking heist

A hacking ring has stolen up to $1 billion from banks around the world in what would be one of the biggest banking breaches known. The hackers have been active since at least the end of 2013 and infiltrated more than 100 banks in 30 countries, primarily in Russia, the U.S. and Europe, according to Russian security company Kaspersky Lab. The attacks are unusual because they target the banks themselves rather than customers and their account information.

In this case they are not interested in information. They’re only interested in the money. They’re flexible and quite aggressive and use any tool they find useful for doing whatever they want to do.

Vicente Diaz, Kaspersky principal security researcher

Most of the targets have been in Russia, the U.S., Germany, China and Ukraine, although the attackers may be expanding throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. In one case, a bank lost $7.3 million through ATM fraud. In another case, a financial institution lost $10 million by the attackers exploiting its online banking platform. The White House is putting an increasing focus on cybersecurity in the wake of numerous data breaches of companies ranging from mass retailers like Target and Home Depot to Sony Pictures Entertainment and health insurer Anthem.

The hackers seem to limit their theft to about $10 million before moving on to another bank, part of the reason why the fraud was not detected earlier.

Vicente Diaz

Business cybersecurity